As an experienced surfer, you are free to choose the type of surfboard that will satisfy all of your requirements. You expect your ride to be exciting and not easy, or take every surfing session as a new challenge!
If the level of your skills is quite high, and you desire to try your best and test the power of waves, these tips will help you find out how certain types of surfboards behave on different waves.
If your level is not high and you still don’t feel confident on the surfboard, you’d better choose such types as funboards or longboards of various sizes.
The tips of choosing a type of surfboard will show you the advantages of different surfboard types and become a guide for you in the future when you are ready to start a new period of your advanced riding on a new type of surfboard.
This article contains some useful pieces of advice so that you could enjoy as many rides as you want, no matter what type of weather is outside. You can’t influence nature, but you should have the means to get along with it.
So, the problem of changing weather may be solved by having more than one type of surfboard in your arsenal: each one can be used in definite weather conditions. Knowing the type of climate you live in may help you to increase the number of days you are on the waves.
Now, let’s see what each type of surfboard offers you!
Table of Contents
Any surfboard
The height of the waves of 4 (1.2192 meters) to 7 (2.1336 meters) feet is thought to be a perfect condition to ride for a surfer of any level and with any surfboard.
Nevertheless, you can choose to try different variants just to see how they behave on the water: single or twin fin, full, fish, and others.
The opportunity to experiment may appear if you are in a group of people where all the surfers have different types of surfboards. Get them together and go surfing.
Swapping your surfboards may vary your experience in riding different types of surfboards.
Flatwater Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP)
This type of surfboard lets you paddle on flat water in lakes, rivers and other waterways that are stable.
You could overcome even some long distances and enjoy being on the water during this time.
But the fact that the SUP is designed for steady water doesn’t mean you can’t actually have fun riding waves: advanced surfers are able to stand on them in any type of weather conditions and enjoy a stable and easy ride.
Longboard
Catching waves and having much fun is a thing you certainly expect from riding a longboard. Its low rocker and length together provide you with smooth gliding on the water.
The obvious benefit is the ability to catch small waves. The huge surface you stand on increases the number of caught rolling waves: you can ride them one by one in a short period.
So, longboards are a perfect type to surf in the areas where the sea or the ocean has small and rolling swells.
Performance Longboard
Performance longboards are the type of equipment you can use when the waves you want to ride are quite big and high. This type of surfboard behaves well in these conditions.
The difference between a performance longboard and a simple longboard is that the first has different fin setup, shape, and curvature.
Thus, three fins and a thin shape offer a surfer good maneuverability and quickness in catching waves, but its weakness is in less stable surfing.
Rolling waves impose difficulties on any type of surfboard. To get in the wave early is a complicated task.
A longboard can do it with waves that are not of a big size, and similar to that, the performance longboard can catch bigger ones under the same conditions. When you catch the swell, the surfboard will let you turn in a wide manner and exploit the wave face.
Fish board
The fish surfboard is a type that may demonstrate great performance qualities when waves are neither too low nor too high.
The shape of this surfboard is wide, and the foam is thick enough to catch medium waves.
The maneuverability is provided by its length, which is actually short, and fins. The speed is good because of low rocker and floating features.
Riding this surfboard, you can improve such types of maneuvers as turns of different levels and cutbacks.
Shortboard
When you want to ride the waves of medium size, you will probably choose such a type as a shortboard because this type performs well under these conditions.
The same thing is with pitching waves. Riding them, you should take a vertical position and even surf barrels.
High maneuverability may be reached by advanced surfers.
Groveler or Hybrid Board
These types of surfboards have the features of other categories. A groveler has almost the same shape as a shortboard, however, there is an additional ability to perform well on small waves.
So-called hybrids combine in themselves designs of a shortboard and a fish board but with some wider elements such as the tail. That also provides a surfer with a good ability to catch small waves.
Both grovelers and hybrid surfboards have low maneuverability, but experienced surfers can still stand on them. One more feature is the type of their bottoms that are concave instead of convex.
Aerial Surfboard
You can probably imagine how complicated it may be to ride small and kicking waves. How to choose the surfboard suitable for this condition?
The answer is an aerial surfboard. Do you know what it is? Here we go to find out.
Any type of surfboard that is small and light will behave well. Remember the tip: you can venture for a shortboard that is obviously short for you.
When waves are small, you won’t have much time for riding them, probably it will take you about 5 seconds. The longboard just can’t cope with it.
You must be quick as a wink when catching the wave that goes right towards you. To improve your surfing skills, constant practice will help.
Gun Board 
Surfing gun surfboards is a type of equipment you’d like to use when the waves are big. Rolling in a slow manner and paddling into them become a complicated process.
The size of the surfboard depends on the size of the swell, and to catch bigger waves, you should have a bigger gun. This type of riding will be challenging as you should paddle quickly avoiding the rolling waves you stand on.
The length of this type of surfboard can play into the hand when you get the speed and catch the waves.
A warm reminder: for waves with height about 12 feet (3.6576 meters), the best solution is a semi-gun surfboard. However, if the waves are higher, about 20 feet (6.096 meters), you’d better surf a full gun board.
Step Up Board
A stable and powerful type of paddling ride may be provided with a step-up surfboard. The design of the step-up board reminds the construction of the shortboard but it’s longer and has a thin tail.
The length is necessary to increase the speed while catching the big waves and paddling into them. The tail helps the surfer to have a stable ride because it adds to the involvement of the surfboard onto the waves.
Tow Board
You should be brave enough to ride the waves that this type of surfboard is designed for. Probably you saw them on the magazines’ covers only.
These waves are enormously large, more than 25 feet (7.62 meters) in height, pitching, with huge barrels, and hardly could be paddled into.
They get the height so quickly that a surfer just can’t keep up with this speed to catch them and there is a danger of being pulled onto the wave.
It is interesting to mention that advanced surfers every year try to ride the types of waves that range from 60 (18.288 meters) to 100 feet (30.479 meters) in height with the help of a tow board.
To Sum Up
Exploring what waves can offer you and what type of surfboard suits best your conditions will allow you not only to become a better surfer and gain a new type of knowledge but also to increase the enjoyment of spending days on the water.
Read about different surfboard types, try them, and find out what fits you best under every specific type of weather conditions.
